Even if you usually find engineering talk as enticing as imagining your parents having sex (eeuw!), it’s hard to resist the fascination of Lesotho’s Katse dam project once you stand next to the dam wall and discover just how bug-like you are by comparison. It’s even harder not to be impressed when you consider some of these facts that everyone should know.

1. The wall is 185 metres high, 60 metres wide at the base, 9 metres wide at top and curves from side to side as well as from top to bottom, making it one of only 30 double-curved concrete arch dam walls in the world.

2. During the initial excavation, it was discovered that the bedrock was seismically unstable so the clever engineers incorporated a moveable joint in the dam’s base to allow it to flex. How smart is that?

3. It took six years and 2.32 million cubic metres of concrete to build. In fact, a truckload of cement and fly ash, transported by road from Ficksburg, was delivered every 40 minutes during the construction phase.

4. Katse, the highest dam in Africa, is also one of the world’s ten largest concrete arch dams in terms of volume, with a capacity of nearly 2 billion cubic metres and a surface area of 38.5 square kilometres.

Katse dam's wall is 185 metres high

5. There’s a series of parallel galleries inside the dam wall that use precision laser instruments to check on the wall’s movement and the dam’s behaviour. The galleries also act as drainage tunnels for water seepage from the mountain. If you go on a tour you’ll discover that it’s cold and damp inside the wall, with white stalactites in the sections that tunnel into the mountain.

6. Katse dam is the transfer reservoir for the whole Lesotho Highlands Water Project. All the water captured by the different structures (like Mohale Dam, which is connected to Katse by a 32km-long tunnel) flow from it to South Africa via Clarens in the Free State.

7. The Katse dam provides 72 megawatts of electricity for Lesotho.8. Lesotho earns some R25 million in export revenue every month for supplying South Africa with water.

View from the top of the wall

As a result of the project, Lesotho got 100 kilometres of new tar road and 260 kilometres of new gravel road, while 1000 kilometres of existing gravel road was upgraded. The project also created jobs, especially near Butha-Buthe and the Ash River Outfall near Clarens in the Free State, which is the final stage of the tunnels that take water to Gauteng.

10. The flip-side is that once-remote mountain villages were changed dramatically. Some 20 000 people lost their homes, farmland or communal grazing grounds (although similar-sized new homes were provided elsewhere). But the effects are still being felt today, with some communities that used to share social ties now cut off from each other by the reservoir.

11. Phase 2 is set to begin near Mokhotlong in 2014 and will take five to six years before it finally joins with Katse dam via a tunnel.

12. Fish in the dam include trout and indigenous yellow fish. There are some nursery projects for the fish (you can see one not far from the Katse Lodge). Trout are farmed for local consumption and export.

Need to knowTours start from the visitor centre; with its bright blue roof, you can’t miss it. Tours cost R30 per person (in November 2018) and take about an hour, starting at 9:00 and 14:00 during the week, and 9:00, 11:00 and 14:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

I have visited Katse Dam twice, both times with a group on motorbikes and stayed at one of the houses within their compound and used the dining facilities of the Lodge. Your descriptions of the trip to the Lodge from Caledonspoort reflect the beauty to be seen. Certainly when there is snow, extreme caution is required. We found the self-catering facilities of the houses good and extremely reasonably priced. The Dam Tour is a must, but make sure you follow the tour leader's vehicle, as she did not direct us and we ended up by missing the first tour in the Dam Wall and had to re-schedule. Petrol is a major problem in the Katse Village and when we were there, the one bowser did not have petrol (no money to pay supplier) and we had to search the informal village to find some for the return trip to Caledonspoort (170kms) for our motorbikes.Weather can be very changeable, so extreme care on the passes is necessary.

Thanks for your comments, Ray. It's always good to hear about other people's experiences. Interesting about the fuel; we had no problems, but things change all the time! (Anyone else wanting to know more about Katse Lodge should read my other post: http://www.roxannereid.co.za/1/post/2012/06/the-truth-about-katse-lodge.html )

Reply

Robyn

29/3/2014 11:41:29 am

Hi Roxanne,

My husband and I are preparing to go to Lesotho for our anniversary, I have been reading your blog posts every night without fail! I have loved your in-depth and very sensory writing and I cant wait to experience it all for myself! Thank you for this blog!! Keep writing and we will keep reading!

Please go to the Lesotho Highland Development Authority website for info at www.lhda.org.ls (we manage and operate the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) OR even ho to thst website www.lhwp.org.ls or email our PR section at lhwp@lhda.org.ls

Reply

Pieter Hugo

6/5/2016 01:18:04 pm

Hi Roxanne, We are travelling as a group of friends and plan to visit Katse and do the tour of the wall. We'll be staying at Camelroc on the SA side of the border. How much time must we allow to travel to be in time for the 09:00 tour? Although it is not very far it apparently is a "slow" road. Thanks, Pieter

Reply

Roxanne

13/5/2016 05:59:23 am

Pieter, I'm afraid I have no idea. Perhaps contact Lesotho Tourism or ask on one of the 4x4 forums like overland.co.za - you'll have to become a member first but they're really helpful.

Reply

bob franklin

10/7/2017 05:00:25 pm

YOU WILL NEED 3 HOURS TO GET THROUGH THE BORDER POST AND THE DRIVE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS TO BE SURE YOU GET THERE IN TIME.

Reply

Roxanne

10/7/2017 06:40:11 pm

Thanks for this info, Bob.

Robbin

3/7/2016 08:56:35 am

Hi.. My friends would like celebrate my birthday in August at katsi dam how far is it from maputswe bridge as we ftom Johannesburg

Reply

Roxanne

3/7/2016 02:00:03 pm

To be honest, Robbin, I don't know because that's not the way we approached it. I Googled "distance from Ficksburg to Katse Dam" though and it said: 2 h 43 min (138,0 km). Since Ficksburg is where the Maputsoe bridge border post is, I hope that helps.

Reply

Roxanne

6/10/2016 10:43:13 am

Lindsay, from Castleburn you'd have to get yourself to Himeville and from there the road goes up into the mountains, joining with Sani Pass. You can get to Katse Dam that way, but it's a long drive. When we did it in 2012 the roads were really rough and slow but I believe a lot of them have been tarred now. Perhaps someone else in this thread can confirm?

Reply

Bokang

11/10/2016 02:53:35 pm

I'm going there December, thank you Roxane for salling Lesotho to the world I'm from Leribe

There is this great place called aloes guest house and it's about half way from Katse Dam , Afriskii and Maseru just in case you need a little rest for a night or some refreshments. It is located in Pitseng , London

Reply

Roxanne

4/11/2016 07:17:17 am

Thanks for that hint, Palesa. Good to know.

Reply

muzi

6/12/2016 03:09:37 pm

mmmm what a lovely place and lovely people,i was there this past weekend,i must say theres too much respect and friedly staff at Katse Lodge,katse dam and spectecular views,

Reply

Roxanne

6/12/2016 08:25:17 pm

Super place, I agree, Muzi. Thanks for your comment.

Reply

Lerato K.

8/4/2017 02:28:30 am

Hi Roxanne...Both my parents were born in Lesotho but raised in RSA and am ashamed 2 say I didn't like Lesotho much until my dad'said passing away & was brought 2 Lesotho as his final resting place.... He loved his country so much and am starting 2 understand why.....am organising a trip 2 Katse dam in November 2017 for me & my colleagues....can I get more advices relating 2 d tour pls....

Reply

Roxanne

8/4/2017 12:35:13 pm

So good to hear that you're getting to know your ancestral land, Lerato. I'm afraid that I just did the tour as a visitor so don't know anything more than what I put in the last paragraph of this blog post (days and times). But I've just Googled it and came up with this website that gives a phone number for the tours, so perhaps you could phone them to find out: http://www.golesotho.co.za/Katse%20Dam.html
Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Reply

Taran

5/6/2017 02:50:32 pm

what are the diving arrangements in the dam

Reply

Roxanne

5/6/2017 03:09:25 pm

I didn't think you were allowed to dive in the dam so Google would be able to help you better than I can, Taran.

We do regular tours to the dam for motorcycle groups - the last was this past weekend. The roads are still very good - the communities along the road are paid to maintain them, and the trip is still a 'bucket-list' route for anyone. One point to note is that the Dam tour is now R30.00 (since June 2017) per person, but still very interesting. Distance from Johannesburg is around 457km - stay at the Lodge until March next year when it reverts mostly to a construction camp for phase two. Fuel available about ten km's from the Lodge, and cheaper than SA. Great blog with good info. Thanks

Reply

Roxanne

1/12/2017 02:23:59 pm

Thanks for this comment and update, Greg. I'm sure doing the trip on motor bikes would be a bucket list tick for many people. Thanks for the tip about the hotel becoming a construction camp again in March 2018.

Please advise on how to book at the tourism centre for a dam wall visit on 6 January 2018

Reply

Roxanne

4/1/2018 05:01:43 pm

I think you'd have to ask them, Andre. If you don't get any success finding a contact number for Katse Dam tours themselves, try Googling the Katse Hotel, who may be able to help with a telephone number.

Reply

Cobus

28/2/2018 10:07:27 am

What was the maximum concrete poring rate m3/hour?

Reply

Roxanne

28/2/2018 10:35:35 am

I'm afraid I have no idea, Cobus. I do know that they used to deliver the concrete day and night at a rate of 6,000 cubic metres per 20 hour shift.

Reply

Joseph

3/9/2018 12:18:27 pm

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know why they built the Katse dam? I’m doing an essay and it requires to have the reasoning of the construction.

Thanks

Reply

Roxanne

3/9/2018 01:34:31 pm

It was built to supplement the water supply to South Africa, Joseph. You can simply Google your question for any more info you might need.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Leave a Reply.

Get email links to the latest posts

Email Address

Buy my books

E-book 2017

2nd ed e-book 2015

E-book 2012​

About

I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.Since 2015, travel buddy and husband Keith has been the primary photographer for this blog.We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.In this blog you can discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

Privacy Policy and GDPR compliance​* We promise that we take data safety seriously and use your private data only to offer a personalised experience* If you subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive our newsletters. You can always unsubscribe by following the link in email or by emailing us* If you gave us your name, it will only be used to personalise the newsletters* We have never sold, we are not selling, and we will not sell any of your personal data provided to us* The blog uses cookies to track activity. It is anonymous except for telling us your location and what you did on our blog​